(This
text was taken from the first service of the 2003
Labor Day - Tape 03LH9-1.)
(Part 1 was published in our
Sept/Oct 2003 Voices From His Excellent Glory)
God's good, isn't
He? God's merciful. He is merciful. He wants people
saved. The Bible talked about it with Jesus, that if
He gave His Son, how shall He not freely give us all
things. We have to understand that God wants us saved
and delivered a lot more than we do. His mercy will
last much longer than yours or mine will, even for
yourself.
Now he said in 1
Samuel 12: (24) Only fear the LORD, and
serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider
how great things he hath done for you.
(25) But if ye shall still do wickedly,
ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king."
Now, we've got to understand something. God has said
they did wicked things, now He has taken that
wickedness and you're going to see something. He
ended up anointing another King, called David, when
it wasn't even God's plan or desire for Israel to
have a king because God was their King. You know what
God did? He started working with people where they
were at, to bring them where He wanted them to be.
See, here's the
thing. A lot of times we think we've got to get lily
white and cross every "t" and dot every
"i" before God will do anything for us. But
that is not true. God will save you. He will heal
you. He will deliver you. As a matter of fact, the
Bible says, it's the goodness of God that leads men
to turn around. See, I've been told that God won't
heal you if you don't get saved. I've prayed for a
lot of people that didn't get saved, that God would
heal and has healed. See, God just wants to show His
mercy. He just wants to show His love. He just wants
to show who He is. He wants it revealed that He is a
loving God. He don't just love His kids. He is love.
He is love. As a matter of fact, the Lord spoke to me
in Fort Worth, Texas, a few years ago and said I will
never love you more … See, I was thinking that
God would really love me because I'd been doing so
many good things. You know what I'm saying. He said,
"I'll never love you more than when you were my
worst enemy." The Bible says, that while we were
His enemy, He died for us. And there is no greater
love than could be shown that one would give His life
for an enemy.
See, you can't do
anything to merit God's love. You can't earn God's
love. God is love. That's who He is. And so, when we
start trying to do that, what we are doing is
cheapening the sacrifice that He showed in His love
to reconcile us to Him. And now we think that it's
our good works that give us an audience with God. And
that's filthy rags. That is legalism. It's
self-righteousness, that we are saved by our doings
instead of by His doings.
In II Samuel, 11:14
.. you know the story. David should have been out
during the war of the kings and he stayed home for
awhile. He walks out on to his balcony and he sees
Bathsheba taking a bath. And he looked too long and
lust got in his heart. And, seeing how he was the
king, he could order who he wanted. So now he's in a
fix. He's caught, in the sense that she's become with
child. So what's he going to do about this? Let's
read, (14) And it came to pass in the
morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab."
Now Joab was his general in the field, in the war.
"and sent it by the hand of Uriah,"
who is Bathsheba's husband, right? Now, this is
plotting deception of the worst kind because this is
the top man in the kingdom. Realize, this is the best
that God's got. That's scary. Think about that. That
was the best that God had to work with. Now, I'm
going to show you how big God is, and how merciful
God is.
And it says, (15) And
he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the
forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from
him, that he may be smitten, and die."
What he did was cause the man to carry his own death
sentence back to the field. He was a good and
faithful servant. He said that as long as his lord,
Joab, was in the field, I will not go home and enjoy
my wife and the things of the flesh. So he didn't do
what David wanted to do. David's trickery didn't
work, so David went a step further. Now this is the
sweet psalmist of Israel that's doing this. Think
about that. This is the song writer of Israel. This
is the one who played for Saul to drive away evil
spirits.
Now, you see, in my
calculation, this man ought to get a more severe
judgment. (16) And it came to pass, when
Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a
place where he knew that valiant men were.
(17) And the men of the city went out,
and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the
people of the servants of David; and Uriah the
Hittite died also. (18) Then
Joab sent and told David all the things concerning
the war; Verse (20) And if
so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto
thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city
when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot
from the wall? (21) Who
smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a
woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the
wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the
wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is
dead also.
You know what? He
knew that would appease the wrath of the king for the
action of getting others killed. (23) And
the messenger said unto David, Surely the men
prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the
field, and we were upon them even unto the entering
of the gate. (24) And the
shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants;
and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy
servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. (25)
Then David said unto the messenger, Thus
shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing
displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well
as another: make thy battle more strong against the
city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
(26) And when the wife of Uriah heard
that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her
husband.
II Samuel 12:1, And
the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto
him," You all know the story, but
there are some points I want you to see. And
he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two
men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. (2)
The rich man had exceeding many flocks
and herds: (3) But the poor
man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he
had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
with him, and with his children; it did eat of his
own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his
bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. (4)
And there came a traveler unto the rich
man, and he spared to take (what he's
simply saying is he refused to take his own flock) of
his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the
wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the
poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was
come to him." It's kind of like if
you come to see me, I go steal my neighbor's chicken
instead of killing one of mine. That's what it
amounts to. And he's only got one and I've got a
whole penful, but I go steal his. And I feed my
company with that one.
(5) And
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man;
and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man
that hath done this thing shall surely die:
Pretty harsh judgment for stealing the lamb. That was
against the law. As a matter of fact, had he died for
stealing … the Bible says if you stole
something, you restore it four-fold. You've restored
back. He doesn't say he is worthy of death, but you
have to understand the depression. I'm telling you,
sin gets us in a place where he's feeling all this
pressure. And now he's an angry man. His judgments
went overboard against someone else, because he is
guilty inside himself. Ok. Now let's go on here.
He said, (6) And
he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did
this thing, and because he had no pity. Before you
kill him, get his four lambs.
"Because he had no pity." Like David had
some. (7) And Nathan said to David, Thou
art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I
anointed thee king over Israel. To
start with, God didn't want a king over Israel. God
wanted to be king over Israel. But because they had
made a wicked choice, God chose to live with them in
the place they made. Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and
I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
(8) And I gave thee thy master's house,
and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee
the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had
been too little, I would moreover have given unto
thee such and such things. (9) Wherefore
hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do
evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite
with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy
wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the
children of Ammon. (10) Now
therefore the sword shall never depart from thine
house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken
the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
(11) Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
raise up evil against thee out of thine own house,
and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give
them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy
wives in the sight of this sun. (12) For
thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing
before all Israel, and before the sun.
(13) And David said unto Nathan, I have
sinned. I wonder if he had said that if
Nathan hadn't showed up? I wonder if he had said that
if Nathan hadn't pronounced such severe judgment? He
said, "I've sinned." See, a lot of times we
don't forgive somebody because they do what they want
and then turn around and say, man I messed up. I see
right now I'm in a bad place. They knew they were
getting in a bad place but now the reality of it hits
them. And I repent! Boy, that's a little fast for us,
isn't it? Like I said, we want them to do penance for
awhile. You know, set on the back row for six months.
You know we were in
a church one time where I attended and one of the
elders committed adultery with one of the other
elder's wives in the church. I know the pastor had a
dilemma. I was just a young man. There was repentance
and things. Well, you know he put him on the back row
for six months. It didn't work. It didn't put things
back together. Now, some of the people that were
involved with that don't serve the Lord. They weren't
restored.
Now look here, he
said, I've sinned against the Lord and And
Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away
thy sin; thou shalt not die. (14) Howbeit,
because by this deed thou hast given great occasion
to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child
also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
Now in verse 19, But
when David saw that his servants whispered, David
perceived that the child was dead: therefore David
said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they
said, He is dead. (20) Then
David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed
himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the
house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to
his own house; and when he required, they set bread
before him, and he did eat. (21) Then
said his servants unto him, What thing is this that
thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the
child, while it was alive; but when the child was
dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
I do that with
families. I'll fast and pray and beg and cry and
counsel and spend time and everything else, and if it
dies, and I can't get it restored and they meet
somebody else and do this, I'm going to try and get
them saved. In other words, what I was working on is
gone. So, what am I going to do, say you old dirty
dogs, just stay lost? I'm going to show you the
mercies of God here.
He said, (22) And
he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and
wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be
gracious to me, that the child may live?
(23) But now he is dead, wherefore should
I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to
him, but he shall not return to me. (24)
And David comforted Bathsheba his wife,
and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare
a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD
loved him. (25) And he sent
by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his
name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. Now,
what I want you to see here is what looks like total
disaster. An absolute total disaster. God, through
His mercy, forgives and He makes something good. My
goodness, when we look at a situation ourself and we
say, "No way!" "No way!" That's
how I felt about some of the things I was dealing
with. "No way!" You plotted this thing,
knowing you were wrong. No way, I'm not taking a step
with this. No way. There is no way I'll ever accept
this. Everything in me is against that. And yet we
see in Scripture that when people repented, God took
them where they were and worked with them to make
something good out of their life, even with the
handicap of the consequences of their actions that
was upon them. That's mercy and that's greatness.
What you have to see
here is this. Now, if I'd been God … you ever
heard somebody say, "I wish I was God for a
day." If I had been God, there would have been
no way that I would have let David keep Bathsheba
after commiting adultery with her and murdering her
husband. I mean, the child was going to die. God had
done passed judgment on that, so everything from that
would have been released and I would never have let
him keep, what he sinned on purpose to get. That just
angers my righteous indignation. That stirs me up!
That's kind of like your kids sneaking into the
cookie jar to steal the cookie you told them to not
get and you slap their hands and let them have the
cookie. To me, that doesn't teach them anything, but
God's ways are higher. God is more merciful. I'm
telling you something. He didn't make David get rid
of Bathsheba who was of total disobedience. And He
didn't make Israel get rid of Saul who was of total
disobedience. Make no mistake about it. They didn't
escape the consequences of their sin. Israel had many
evil kings after Saul. David had hell in his family
from then on, didn't he? He had heartache, after
heartache, problem after problem. You know, he wasn't
even allowed to build the house of God because of
what he had done. But God still took that mess that
shouldn't have been together … get this …
He took the mess that shouldn't have been together,
and brought forth Jesus Christ from that mess. That's
mercy!
There isn't a one of
you that's in such a bad state, that you can't find
deliverance and forgiveness, the mercy of God. You
don't have your life so messed up … see I know
how the enemy talks to us. He'll beat you down. He
won't let you forgive yourself. You realize, God will
forgive you a whole lot quicker than you'll forgive
yourself? But you need to know that the mercies of
the Lord are new every morning. We need to know how
much He loves us. I'm telling you, God is so great
that He can take that which is a result of sin and He
can take the accumulated mess that we've made, and
make something that will bring Him glory. Only God
can take ashes and make beauty. Only God.
Well, let's look at
Peter. When Peter first denied the Lord, Jesus didn't
later say, "Nope, you can't be my disciple
anymore. You've messed up." No, He didn't do
that did He? My goodness, He didn't say, "After
you've walked with Me all these years, ate My food, I
paid your taxes, healed your mother-in-law, gave you
power over all the enemy to cast out devils and heal
the sick, and you had the audacity to curse and deny
Me. Get out of My sight." No, He didn't do that,
did He? But we might have. In My hardest hour, you
cursed and denied Me.
You see, it says in
John 20 verse (1) The first day of the
week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet
dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken
away from the sepulchre. (2) Then
she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the
other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto
them, They have taken away the Lord out of the
sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (3)
Peter therefore went forth, and that
other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
(4) So they ran both together: and the
other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to
the sepulchre. Now, I'm not so sure
Peter is running as hard as he could. You just stop
and think about it. The last contact he had was when
Jesus looked at him and he had cursed and denied him.
Don't you imagine he was wondering what would he say?
How will I be received? You know how the enemy works
on people. I wonder if he was thinking about when the
Lord looked at him while he was denying the Lord. I
wonder if he was thinking, "Will He want
anything to do with me?" Because, like I say,
you know how satan works with condemnation. He beats
us down. I believe that Peter had probably thought a
lot about it. And I believe he had probably come to
the conclusion that the only hope there was in life
was Jesus. I think he probably remembered and thought
about all the times there was great healing services,
miracles and everything … the glory and the
majesty of the Father being revealed in this realm.
And to go back to fishing, a mundane job … what
if he wasn't received? What if he was rejected. I
know it says that he had went out and wept bitterly.
He was sorry, but what would Jesus think about him
now? What would Jesus say to this man?
Well, in John 20,
verse 17, Mary had tarried. There's a beautiful
message there. Mary, being a type of the church, that
she just loved and said, if you'll just tell us where
you laid Him. She thought He was the gardener. The
others had just went on. But she couldn't give it up.
There was love there. She had been delivered of much.
He that is forgiven much, loveth much. She couldn't
just let it pass. She couldn't go back to the house.
She had to find out some more and He revealed Himself
to her before He planned on it. And here's what He
said to her. He told Mary, "Touch me
not." Now, the question is what
would Jesus say to Peter? I'm talking about mercy.
I'm talking about forgiveness. "Touch
me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but
go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto
my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your
God." He said, "Go
to my brethren. (and Peter) My
God is their God." All the
disciples had scattered and left Him. And Peter had
denied Him. But Jesus called them brethren.
But what would Jesus
say to this one who had so vehemently denied Him?
Later, by the fire, after He had fed them, He asked
Peter, "Lovest thou Me?"
And here's what He said to this one who had
vehemently denied Him. "Feed My
lambs".. Boy, now that's mercy.
Put right into his hands, because of repentance. I
don't know. If you or I had done that it would be
hard to forgive ourselves, wouldn't it? See, I know
there is no doubt Peter was being beat up, having a
hard time forgiving himself. But there was a glory to
be had that he couldn't just slip off into obscurity.
You've got to understand that. He had tasted of
something. He had experienced something. He had
witnessed something that He knew life would be
worthless without. And my hope is that you will
experience the presence of God in such a way that it
will be a stronger pull than the condemnation, the
beating down, that you will run to Jesus to find
help. He wants to help.
This is known as a
deliverance camp. And I think it is fitting for us to
know, this being the first service of this meeting,
that God is merciful. He loves you. Jesus asked Peter
again, "Peter, lovest thou Me?"
He said, "Feed My sheep."
"Feed My sheep."
You know, if He didn't love him, if He hadn't
forgiven him, if He hadn't shown mercy, He sure
wouldn't have put him feeding His sheep. He sure
wouldn't have committed to him His great treasure -
the people of God. I tell people all the time, if it
wasn't for you, God wouldn't need me. He wouldn't
need a pastor if it wasn't for His precious people.
I'm not the important one. I'm the minister or the
servant, or the one that serves. I don't ask people,
get me a glass of this, would you bring a plate to
me, would you do this and serve me. Now, that's all
right when people want to honor folks, that's just
fine. But when you start feeling like you're the
lord, feeling like you are the big cheese, you have a
problem. You are thinking you are more important than
you are. Really, what it amounts to, if you want to
be great in God's Kingdom, you learn to serve. You
learn to humble yourself. You learn to serve others.
And what I want us
to see here is we have such a merciful God and our
confidence should not be in our well doing, but
instead it should be in His righteousness. Our
confidence should be in His righteousness. As a
matter of fact, there is no one that can boast in
their own righteousness or good deeds because you
wouldn't have done them if it hadn't have been for
God's influence. In other words, you wouldn't have
lived the way you lived if God hadn't influenced you
to do it. So you can't say, "Well, I am holy
because I did this or this and now look at what
they've done."
You know, I've
experienced something in our assembly. We've had over
a thousand miracles and healings in the last two
years, but there is something that I have noticed
that has become very plain. People who have
confidence in their own goodness do not get healed.
I've seen them come from near and far, come with
problems and things and they set there, and they're
proud that their hair is a certain way. They are
proud that they have long sleeves on. They're proud
that they've lived a certain way, and if anybody
deserves to get healed, they do! That's how they
feel. And they don't get it. And if you try and talk
to them about looking to Him and His righteousness,
they get offended. We've had them hobble out with the
same problem they had when they came, because,
instead of looking to Jesus and having confidence in
His mercy and His love, they thought that their works
had gained them an audience with God … just like
the pharisee and publican. Oh God, I'm so thankful
I'm not like this one. I've done everything right.
Listen, you doing everything right does not give you
an audience with God. It's only the blood. Only the
blood.
If you understand,
if you've studied the tabernacle, on the day of
atonement, the priest could not walk behind the veil
without stepping on blood. He had to sprinkle the
blood. The blood was his access to the presence of
God. He was the high priest but he had to walk in on
the blood. What kept him alive was the blood. There
is no one that can look to God, that can come to God
and say, "Look, God, I've been doing everything
that you've said to do, so I deserve to be more
blessed than so and so over there." Right? I
know, because I've said it. They've messed up over
and over and over and why are you blessing them when
I'm needing the same thing and they are getting it
and I am not? Yeah, I've messed up like that before.
You can't love them as much as you love me. I mean,
I've been trying God. But see, that's not the way it
is. Here's the thing. If you'll just look, you'll see
the same blood has to be on you that's on them. If
you remember the song, "Only the Blood". I
deserve judgment for the crime of sin. God gave His
son and judgment began. It took the same blood to
redeem you and that person who hasn't been doing as
good as you. Now, somebody here might not have been
doing so good. It may be somebody else. But let me
tell you something, it takes the same blood. You may
feel like you are unworthy. No, it takes the same
blood for that one that has been doing alright as it
does for you. The same blood. There is only one cross
and everybody has to kneel and receive the same blood
applied to their lives.
As a matter of fact,
I was quite upset with an individual one time and I
was ready to throw him out of the family of God. You
know, disown him. And the Lord gave me a vision. And
as I was standing there I saw the cross and there
were multitudes coming and kneeling around receiving
that which the cross had done. God just gave me a
vision in terms that I could understand. And I looked
across many heads and there was that person over
yonder, kneeling. And the Lord told me, "There's
only one cross." Don't throw anyone away because
your name may be attached to them. The Bible says,
"Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy." You see, God
is not looking at our good works to see if we merit
His presence. What God is looking for is the blood.
Is it applied? Is it applied?
Hebrews 4:16, "Let
us therefore come boldly." I want
to dissect this just a moment. Boldly unto the throne
of grace. What for? That you may obtain mercy. Now,
how in the world can you come boldly when you know
you are guilty? Listen, it says, "to
obtain mercy". That's how good God
is. God is not mad at us, folks. Jesus took all the
wrath and the anger that God had towards sin …
Jesus took it for us. So we can come boldly to the
throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. Listen, the only time you can
come boldly is to have an understanding of how loving
God is. You have to understand the power of the
cross. And it's not just to come and get us delivered
from the mess we are in, but it is to redeem us back
to what God had in mind when He made man. This is
greater than getting just temporarily fixed or even
well fixed so you can live your life for yourself.
God delivers us. He saves us. He frees us from the
power of darkness for His purposes. (To be
concluded in the Jan/Feb 2004 issue.)
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